By Regina Villiers. Originally published May 9, 2001 in The Suburban Life, added May 13, 2015
Nestled in a quiet niche next door to the library on Miami Avenue, Madeira will soon have its own little nature center and arboretum. Almost in the heart of town, it’s the 1.5 acres surrounding the home of Elizabeth Miller, who donated the house and land to the Madeira Historical Society a couple of years ago.
Her home, a Sears Roebuck house, will be a museum and the future home of the historical society.
But the large grounds, a naturalist’s dream, are now attracting attention. The trees and woody plants on the property have been identified and labeled with permanent plaques and markers by horticulturists from Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum.
The work was done and overseen by Thomas L. Smith, Spring Grove senior vie president, and Brian Jorg, assistant manager. Both are horticulturists.
Smith and Jorg identified and permanently marked 31 trees and woody plants on the lot.
Smith, who also is a professor who teaches horticulture at the University of Cincinnati, is enthusiastic about the project. He describes it as a great collection of native plants.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for the community to promote nature, and it will be a great educational asset for children and students in Madeira,” he said. Her also said there is room on the property for future plantings and more expansion.
Smith, who loves talking plants, discussed some of the individual plants and trees. There are the trees common to this area, such as sugar maple, sassafras and black walnut. There are several varieties of evergreens, spruces and pine trees. There’s a pin oak and a bur oak. There are various blooming shrubs and varieties of dogwoods, Miller’s favorite.
Smith discussed some of the plants, which are usually considered invasive; such as bamboo and winter creeper Euonymus “They are easily controlled,” he said, “by care and trimming.”
The most unusual plant I saw on the tour is the Devil’s Walking stick. The tall, slender trunks are covered with sharp, unfriendly thorns.
The historical society has prepared and printed a leaflet of the grounds, with all the identified plants and trees, which were identified and tagged by Spring Grove, diagrammed and numbered on a map. The route they laid out starts at the left front of the yard and zigzags its way around to the back of the lot, circles and ends back at the right front of the lot, with a Cleveland select pear tree. With the leaflet in hand, you can identify and study every tree and shrub. It’s a botanical education.
In addition to the trees, you will go past gardens and plants not on the map. There are wild flower gardens. Miller is especially proud of the “Horseshoe Garden” in back and she is fond of her sunken garden, the “Crocodile Pond.” Once a pond, it was the home of a real crocodile.
Miller is possessive of her flower gardens and still does as much of the work herself as she can. She really doesn’t want anyone in her gardens who doesn’t know a money plant from a weed.
Since she still lives there, the museum is not yet a reality, and the grounds are not open to the public yet.
But the historical society is having a barbecue on the grounds at 4 p.m. Saturday, May 19. That day, the public will be welcome to attend the barbecue and tour the grounds to see the work that the Spring Grove horticulturists have done. Smith, himself, hopes to attend and view his own work that day.
Along with the unveiling of the markers, Miller on that day is dedicating to the memory of her husband, Bruce Miller, a stone rest area with a bench. She had this built in front of the house, next to the street, as a memorial for her husband. “I thought it would be nice,” she said, “for people who walk by to be able to stop for a minute.”
The Madeira Historical Society is a small group of dedicated people who are trying to do good things for the community. A few people do an awful lot of work. They need new members and more manpower and womanpower. They are trying to inventory their possessions and memorabilia to get ready for the day when they open their museum. They have a special need for someone to see after the old photos and paper archives.
If you’d like to see what they’re doing, come to a meeting, or come to the barbecue on May 19 and tour the gardens.
The food for the barbecue is being provided and donated by Jack Johnston. There is a small charge, $5, to cover other expenses. You can pay this at the “gate,” but they do need a head count in order to prepare enough food. If you plan to come, just call or contact them and put your name in the pot.
Everyone is welcome. You can relax, eat and talk to the trees. What better way to spend a late afternoon in May?